Testing apparatus for motor vehicle operators



Mfh 23, 1954 J, wENTZ 2,672,696

TESTING APPARATUS'FOR MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS Filed Feb. 11, 1949 5 Shegts-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

March 23, 1954 J, w z 2,672,696

TESTING APPARATUS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS Filed Feb. 11, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Enventor March 23, 1954 J, WENTZ 2,672,696

TESTING APPARATUS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS Filed Feb. 11, 1949 5 sheetssheet 3 FIG. 4

Enventor 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 J. E. WENTZ TESTING APPARATUS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS March 23, 1954 Filed Feb. 11, 1949 3nventor attorneys March 23, 1954 I J. E. WENTZ 2,672,696

TESTING APPARATUS FOR MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATORS Filed Feb. 11, 1949 5 Shee'ts-Sheet 5 Patented Mar. 23, 1954 TESTING APPARATUS FOR VEHICLE 'OPERATGR MOTOR S John E. Wentz, Lawrencehurg, Ind. Application February 11, 1949, Serial No. 75,915

3' Claims.

This invention isv an apparatus for testing the reactions of record of such reactions;

It is an object of the invention topermit: of the convenient driving of the vehicle onto and ofli oi the apparatus by" the. operator being tested.

It is also an object of the invention to provide for the use of the vehicle of the operator undergoing the test or any other motor vehicle with which he: is familiar.

Provision is made for actuating a stylus or graphic line indicating the speed of. the vehicle period of the test.

Steering operations, according tothe; present invention, are marked. on the traveling record tape by means associated with the steering wheels of the motor vehicle.

Provision is made to rotatably support the driven wheels of the vehicle so as to prevent travel of the vehicle during the test period, and to support the steering wheels so as to permit steering movements thereof.

The invention involves the use of a moving picture film projected on a screen and depicting roadway and tralfic conditions, such. as grades;

cord-ance with his judgment; v

Also, the record tape is driven by the filmfeeding mechanism oi the projector w Figure 1 is a top plan view of an apparatus ior testing the driving ability of. an automobile driver.

Figure 2- is a side elevation thereof. Figure 3 is afrontelevation of the rack portion of the apparatus. Figure 4 is, an enlargeddetail plan view of the means for marking speed indications on a record tape.

Figure. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view on the line. 5-5 of Figure 1;. p I Figure 6- is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of a detail. p g I Figure 7 isa detail plan viewof the means: for marking steering operations on a record tape.

Figurev & is a sectional elevation on the line &--8 ii sur Fi u e i ee en l. e v on. l st the mounting of the record tape of the apparatus.

Figure 10 is a detail elevation oi: the means. for driving the record tape.

Figure 11 is a plan view of a portion of a record tape. having steering and speed indicati'ons: marked. thereon by the apparatus of the present. invention.

The apparatus of the present invention intended to support an automobile in a stationary condition and at the. same time permit of the running of the engine for speed; recording, and the turning of the steering wheels for steering recording,

For the support of an automobile; there is a rack made up of a pair of spaced parallel. and horizontal track members i preferably in the form of a channel iron having upstanding flanges it and supported in an elevated position in any suitable manner as by means of posts 3. Spaced at a suitable. distance in rear of. the track members l are other and similar horizontal track members i, to the rear ends of which leads; ramp made up of inclined track members. i leading from a floor or ground upwardly to the rear end of. the; track members ll of the rack. The track members 4 and 5 are mounted on suitable posts as shown so that the track members t are in the same horizontal plane with the trackmembers I.

Between each pair of track members I and 4 there is a tread mill made up of intermediate roller 6, a front roller 1 and a rear roller it each mounted to rotate on a horizontal axis with the upper portion of its periphery in substantially the same horizontal plane as that of the rack members l and l. As. best shown in Figure 1, these rollers. are concaved or provided with align-ed grooves which are intended to constituteaseatfor the reception of one of the. rear wheels of an automobile as will hereinafter appear. The. two intermediate rollers: 6: are carried by a horizontal shaft it so as to rotate therewith, the shaft being mounted in any suitable manner. One end of the shaft 9 projects: laterally beyond the rack and carries a. flywheel" I 0; and a brake. wheel H As thus far described, it will be understood that an automobile. may be driven up. the. ramp por tion 5 of the rack and onto. the horizontal portion of the rack until its rear wheels are received between. the. intermediate roller 5 and either rollor i or the roller Lt. When in this position, the engine of the automobile may be put into opera tion so as to operate the; rear or driving wheels ol the automobile which will rotate between the in termediate rolls a and. either of the rolls; t and 8 without causing. any forward or rear movement of the: automobile while at' the. same. time the idle rollers will be rotated and the shaft 9 will be 3 rotated so that the intermediate rolls 6 will be rotated simultaneously and at the same rate of speed and thus the drive wheels of the automobile may rotate without interference on the part of the present apparatus.

For the support of each front or steerin wheel of the automobile, there is provided a horizontal turntable l2 located in alignment with the front end of one of the track members i and mounted to rotate on a vertical axis and provided with a depending stem l3 rotatably mounted in a casing or base l4. When the automobile is driven upon the rack of the present invention, it is positioned so that each steering wheel will rest upon one of the turntables, whereby the steering wheels are free to turn with the turntables upon manipulation of the steering wheel of the automobile. The turntables are so mounted that they may be moved forwardly away from the track members I to accommodate automobiles of different lengths. To provide for this movement or adjustment of the turntables, the supporting bases [4 thereof are connected together by means of a crosshead. l5 through which extends a screw threaded rod or bar 16 having a screw threaded engagement with the crosshead. The rear end of the screw threaded rod is mounted in a thrust bearing 11 fixed in any suitable manner so as to support the rod 16 against endwise movement. Upon the front end of the rod l6 there is a crank handle 13 5 for use in turning the rod, whereby the crosshead l5 and the turntables carried thereby may be moved to selected positions spaced from the track members 1.

Located in front of the turntables and in horizontal alignment therewith are track members 19, similar to track members I for the purpose of receiving and supporting the steering wheels of an automobile should they travel past the turntables I2 preparatory to locating the steering wheels of the automobile on the turntables. For the purpose of selectively adjusting the positions of the turntables l2 and the track members 19, said parts may be mounted upon a truck 20 having wheels 2| traveling on a track 22 provided on the floor or the ground, such truck being movable back and forth by turning of the screw threaded rod l6.

With an automobile supported on the rack in the position shown in Figure 2, rotatin motion may be taken from one of the driving wheels of the automobile and employed for actuating a marker for marking a speed indicating line on a traveling tape in the manner now to be described.

At that side of the rack which is opposite the brake end of the shaft 9 there is a speed indicator shaft 23 disposed in a horizontal position and extending at substantially right angles to the rack. This shaft is divided into sections, two of which are connected by a flexible coupling 24. Between the coupling and the rack are two sections of the shaft which are connected in alignment by means of a sleeve 25 having set screws 26 whereby the shaft sections may be adjusted endwise within the sleeve and the effective length of the shaft thereby adjusted. The inner end of the shaft is provided with a vacuum cup 21 designed to be applied to the hub cap of the adjacent driving wheel of the automobile. The connection between the vacuum cup and the adjacent end of the speed indicator shaft may be in the form of a universal Joint 28 so that the vacuum cup may accommodate itself to both the shaft and the automobile wheel. The shaft 23 is of a length such as will 4 outer end is mounted in a bearing 29 which is supported in any suitable manner.

Mounted upon an intermediate portion of the shaft 23 so as to rotate therewith and slide thereon is a disk 30 having a hub 3|, to which a pair of links 32 are pivotally connected as at 33. The outer end of each link 32 is provided with an eye or collar 34 hinged or pivoted as at 35 to the extremity of the link and slidably receiving an arm 36 having one end pivoted as at 31 to the shaft 23 through the instrumentality of a member 36 fixed to the shaft so as to rotate therewith and to be held against longitudinal movement thereon. The arms 36 extend from their pivotal connections 31 with the shaft towards the disk 30 and each of them is provided on its free end with a weight 33, whereby the arms and links operate like a governor for sliding the disk 30 along the shaft 23 under centrifugal action of the arms 36. The disk 30, together with the link 32 and arms 36, constitute speed responsive means responsive to the speed of rotation of the associated drive wheel of the automobile. This responsive means is utilized to actuate a marker for marking on a traveling record tape a continuous line representing a record of the speed of travel of the automobile. In carrying out this feature of the invention, an endwise movable slide bar 40 is disposed in parallelism with the shaft 23 and located between the disk 30 and the bearing 29 at the outer end of the shaft. A fixed slideway 4| is disposed below and in parallelism with the slide 40 and is provided in its upper face with a V-shaped groove 42 receiving the similarly shaped rib 43 extending from the under face of the slide 40'. An arm or bracket 44 projects laterally from the slide 40 and carries a depending marker 45 disposed in cooperative marking relation with the upper surface of that portion 46 of a record tape underlying the slideway 4| and the speed recording shaft 23 and mounted to travel transversely of the direction of movement of the slide bar 40. As shown, the stylus or marker 45 is below and in vertical alignment with the shaft 23 which relation is desirable but not essential.

Referring to Figures 4 and 11, it will be understood that the combination and arrangement of the parts just described will result in an endwise reciprocating movement of the bar 40 under the influence of speed changes in the rotation of the automobile wheel with which the device is associated, thereby causing the marker 45 to reciprocate transversely of the record tape 46 traveling beneath the marker and at right angles to the direction of the reciprocating movement of the marker, whereby a record line 41 will be produced on the record tape, and this line will be a graphic record of the speed of the automobile as will hereinafter be explained.

The means for actuating a marker to mark on the record tape a graphic record of the steering operations is best shown in Figures 1, '7, 8 and 9, wherein 48 indicates the stylus or marker for producing the steering record line on the record tape, and this marker is actuated from one of the steering wheels of the automobile in the manner now to be described. A pair of parallel rods 49 are provided for transmitting steering movements from a steering wheel. Each rod is provided at one end with a vacuum cup 50 designed for application to the hub of a steering wheel at one side of the axis of rotation of the wheel, and is connected to the rod 49 by means of a suitable universal joint 5|. Each rod 49 is divided into sec accommodate other parts of the apparatus, and its tions connected by a sleeve 52 having set screws arr-aces The: outer" or free ends-ct thoracicie are-pivotailyeonnected' as at as to the opposite ends on a horizontal lever 55 fulcrumedi 5-11 a suitable su ports-frontie s: bsaclnet'sw whereby the lever so will. be rocked upon its fulcrum. ts by movementf the rods s9 Disposed at substantialiy right angles to the rods: 49 are other paral le'l r'ods 59 hasing t I minals thereot pivoted as arts to a. n izontal letter M rulerumed betweenits ends on the: rutcrummotthaleveras. The levers stand as: are

rigidly connected as to move simultaneously, and, therefore", these levers maybe the iiorm of a star wheel or bel l cranhiasi wiltv be understood. Thaothes ends of the rods 9 are pivotedsas at; 82 to opposite ends hoizontal levert3; titl era-med intermediate or its ends as at Mt upon a bracket or suitable suapp'ort 555,:so thatiwh en the rods are moved: in opposite directions, under steering movement of. the. steering wheel or the automobile;v the levers 5n and it! will. be simpl tan'eously rocked whereby the: lever 6d will, be

rocked-on: its-futcrum easy the movement-of the rodse'i9 endwise' in opposite directions. The lever M carries a horizontal arm 6dr extending trons the rulcmim portion 64 so as tor rocln with the lever 5:3 and constitute a"; bell crank. The marker 48 is carried by and depends from the arm and is disposed cooperative" relation with the upper face of the record tape 46' so as tomark a line thereons such as indicated at E1 in Figure 11, corresponding. to and indicatii' e' of the steering movement or the steering wheel of the automobile to which the apparatus is connected; as will hereinafterbe explained. I

The horizontal portion 46 of the record tape, as best shownin Figure 9, is mounted to travel across the top of a table or suitable support 63 with the supply portion wound upon a suppl reel 58 disposed ill a horizontal position and rotatably mounted in any suitable manner as by means of bearing brackets: carried by the table,

one such bracket being. shown at 10. The record tape leads from the supply reel. 69 to a guide drum Tl disposed between the supply reel it and the table top, and travels over the top of the drum, which top is in substantial alignment with the table top 68. table it engages a feed drum 1! driven in a manner as will be described. This drum has two annular series of fingers or projections 13 to engage perforations M in the opposite longitudinal edge portions of the record tape whereby the tape may be moved endwise and unwound from the supply drum 69. From the driving drum 12, the record tape leads to a storage reel 15 rotated in any manner so as to wind the marked portion of the tape upon the reel. As hereinbefore indicated, the present apparatus is intended to be used in conjunction with a motion picture projector A, which will be disposed in cooperative relation with the rack as indicated in Figure 2 of the drawings, and in accordance with the present invention, the mechanism for causing the record tape to travel from the supply reel to the storage reel is intended to be actuated from the film feeding mechanism of the projector. To accomplish this result, the feed drum 12 is pro- Bic lier After the tape travels across the .1

video: with ii -miter gear" is meshed with another in ites gear 11', nrcuntedini any suitable; manner and associated witlr flexible sh'afiting 18 extends ing to? and: associated witlr the film" feeding mechi anism: of the projector so" as to? drive? the drum 1-2 and conse' 'uently' the record tape: synchronisin or some predetermined ratio with respect to-thc' travel of the. film: through the proester;- Thc': storage reel 115'- is driven from the reed drum 1- 2 in suitable mannemias by means df 'a' belt whereby the. storage reel will be driven are proper rate of speed to satisfactorily wind thetape' on thesupply reel and' also maintain the intermediate portion 46 of the tape in a taut and satisfactory condition for the proper operaof the markers: 4:5 and 48 on the;- upper surface'of the record tapewhich is supported by the table; top 68 As herei'nbefcre indicated, the present appara-' tus is intended to make a record of the reactions oi the driver of an automobile associated with the present apparatus to: the simulated driving cond'itionsas displayed? to said driver through tl'id iiisti'um'entality or a picture film protected in the usual manner upon a screen such as indicatcd at l3v arrangedto be: conveniently viewed". by the automobile operator or driver undergoing the test.

In using the apparatus, the turntables l2- are positioned with respect to the tread mill: of. the apparatus in accordance with the wheel: base dimension or the: automobile; and then. the automobile driven up the ramp 5 and onto the horizontal portion of the rack. until. the. driven wheels of the automobile are seated upon the driven rods 6 or the" tread mill: and eitherof the sets or idle rolls thereof, and. the steering wheels or the automobile supported on: the respective turntables 2.- Th e projection apparatus is then set in operation so as to display on the screen B moving picture of' a roadway as it would appear to the aatomobile driver being.- tested if he was traveling" along said roadway.- The picture would include turn's} grades, intersections, conditions,- accidents and near. accidents, it would be the duty of: the: driver under test to music and control automobile accordance with conditions appearing to in the moving picture displayed on the screen.

The automobile engine will; or course, be in operation during the test and, therefore, the speed marker 45 will be actuated directly a dcordance with the speed of rotation of the driven wheels of the automobile and will be moved back and forth transversely across the record tape 46 which is traveling at right angles to the reciprocating path of travel of the marker, thereby resulting in the production of a line, such as indicated at 41 in Figure 11, upon the record tape, such line indicating successively and continuously the rate of speed at which the automobile Was traveling. At the same time the marker 48 will be actuated by the steerable movements of the steering wheels of the automobile so as to swing the marker 48 transversely across the record tape 46 and thereby produce a line 61 on the tape which line will indicate continuously and consecutively the steerable movements of the steering wheels.

For the purpose of reading the record, the tape is provided with time graduation lines extending in parallelism transversely across the width of the record tape and spaced regularly to indicate some predetermined time intervals. Extending longitudinally of the tape is a heavy line or a colored line 8| disposed nearer one edge of the tape than the other edge, and with which line the speed marker 45 is set in registration preparatory to the use of the apparatus. After being thus set, the speed responsive mechanism 32 and 36 being at rest, any movement of the marker 45 occasioned by the speed responsive means will be to one side or the line 8!. That portion of the record tape across which the speed markeroperates is provided with a plurality of parallel lines 82 spaced to indicate rates of speed beginning with zero at the line 8| and increasing towards the right hand longitudinal edge of the record tape.

The marker 48 will be set to coincide with a line 83 extending longitudinally of the record tape at that side of the line Bl which is opposite the portion of the record tape which has the speed indicating lines 82, and thus it will be seen that as the marker 48 is moved laterally across the record tape under the eifect of steering movements of the steerable wheels of the automobile, there will be produced the line 61 which will weave transversely of the tape and to opposite sides of the line 83.

Inasmuch as the speed line and the steering lin extend in a general direction longitudinally of the record tape and across the time interval lines 80, which latter may be provided with indicia indicating time intervals made up of the sum of a plurality of the time intervals 80, the reaction of the driver under test may be readily determined by reference to the markings on the tape at the selected time intervals.

What I claim is:

1. In an apparatus for recording the driving reactions of the driver of a motor vehicle, a traveling record tape, a slide mounted above and across the tape for reciprocation transversely of the record tape, a speed marker carried by the slide in cooperative relation with the record tape, and speed marker actuating means including a rotary shaft having means for connection with a driven wheel of a motor vehicle, a disc mounted on the shaft to rotate therewith and slide thereon, a centrifugal speed responsive device mounted on th shaft and connected with the disc to reciprocate said disc on the shaft, and a tongue and groove connection between the disc and the slide for reciprocating the slide.

2. In an apparatus for recording the driving reactions of the driver of an automobile a traveling record tape, a steering marker pivotally mounted to swing transversely across the record tape in cooperative relation therewith, a bell crank, an operating connection between ,the pivotal marker and the bell crank, and a reciproeating rod connected to the bell crank and provided with means for connection with one of the steerable wheels of an automobile to reciprocate the said rod and thereby swing the marker on its pivotal support.

3. In an apparatus for recording the driving reactions of the driver of a motor vehicle, the combination of a traveling record tape, a slide mounted to reciprocate transversely of the tape, a speed marker carried by the slide in cooperative relation with the tape, a rotary shaft in parallelism with the path of the slide and provided with means for connection with a driven wheel of a motor vehicle, a disc rotatable with and slidable upon the shaft, a tongue and groove connection between the disc and slide, a centrifugal speed responsive device slidable upon the shaft and connected to the disc to rotate and reciprocate the disc upon the shaft, a pivotally supported steering marker in cooperative relation with the record tape, a bell crank, a reciprocatory rod connecting the bell crank and the marker for swinging the latter, and a reciprocatory rod connected to the bell crank and having means for connection with a steerable wheel of a motor vehicle for reciprocating said rod by steering movements of said wheel for swinging the bell crank and actuating the steering marker.

JOHN E. WENTZ.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,894,405 Langbein Jan. 1'7, 1933 1,928,505 lschmelcher Sept. 26, 1933 2,055,430 Feragen Sept. 22, 1936 2,091,154 Matzner Aug. 24, 1937 2,149,440 Jackson Mar. '7, 1939 2,269,444 Durham Jan. 13, 1942 2,353,213 Bennett July 11, 1944 2,414,976 Redhed M Jan, 28, 1947 2,627,674 Wilson Feb. 10, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 747,274 France Mar. 28, 1933 

